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St. Thomas, Ontario’s DJ Kennington driver of the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge was in Concord, North Carolina this past weekend to attend the NASCAR Touring Series Awards Gala that recognized the accomplishments of the participants in each of the NASCAR divisions. The trip south for Kennington was well worth the journey as he collected the trophy for second place in the overall series championship, along with the coveted Mopar Cup as the top finishing Mopar powered driver in the series.

In addition to the Awards Dinner Gala, NASCAR also organized other events for those attending the festivities that included driver briefings, seminars and tours of the some of the most technically advanced race shops in the vicinity. “This was quite a big deal for all of us” said DJ Kennington. “We got to really see first hand how important these series are in the business of NASCAR” he added.

Kennington was awarded the Mopar Cup on Friday morning and was proud to accept the trophy. “These Mopar powered engines are the reason we’ve been able to have such great success in the series” he stated. “The motors generate so much horsepower, they’re incredibly reliable, and you have to have that to win races” he concluded.

The Castrol/Mahindra Tractors Dodge driver also accepted the trophy for finishing second overall on stage at the Concord Convention Centre on Saturday night. “I’m so proud of the whole team for the season we had” said the driver. “We had two wins this year, and finished top-ten in eleven of thirteen races, top-five in nine out of thirteen. Normally that would be good enough to win the championship but we came up a little short, but we’re hungrier than ever for next year” he stated.

Kennington and company are already at work preparing for the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season and the thirteen race schedule was released during the weekend’s events. While many of the venues are familiar to the competitors the one new event on the schedule has the series running on the streets of Exhibition Place as part of the Toronto Indy weekend. “We’ve seen how exciting these stock cars are to watch on road courses in the last few years, they’re a lot of fun to drive too and I’m really looking forward to racing in Toronto again” said Kennington.

You’ll also be able to follow the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series on television in 2010 with all thirteen races broadcast on TSN, most in High Definition. Look for a newly redesigned website coming soon to follow the success of DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractors Dodge.

DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team traveled to Riverside International Speedway for round number twelve of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this past weekend. While showing the big horsepower of their Dodge motor in qualifying by scoring the pole position, Kennington would suffer a mechanical breakdown ending his day early

Persistent rain showers forced postponement of the race from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon but the delay didn’t bother the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team. Kennington wasn’t pleased with the times posted during the morning practiced and the team made significant changes to the car. “It’s not that we were too far off we knew that we had to make the car faster” said Kennington.

The Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team made the right changes to the car and Kennington was the only competitor to post a time under fifteen seconds, putting down a blazing lap of 14.917 seconds for an average speed of 80.365 MPH to secure his second pole position of the season. “It was a great job by the team, the car was great during those qualifying laps” said the driver.

As the green flag waved for the 300 lap main event Kennington would hold the lead for the first thirty one laps. “We wanted to lead some laps and take the bonus points and we were able to do that” said Kennington. While Kennington surrendered the lead he was never far from the front. “With a 300 lap race I wanted to save the car a little bit” said the driver.

During a caution period near the one third point of the race Kennington made a scheduled stop for fuel. “Our strategy was to get our fuel first and then leave ourselves some options for later in the race” said the driver. The Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team would not have the opportunity to use any of those options.

Just before the halfway point of the race as Kennington was again moving the Castrol/Mahindra Tractors Dodge toward the front of the field he began to slow on the race track. “There was no warning but I knew it was serious right away” said the disappointed driver afterwards. Knowing the severity of the problem Kennington immediately brought the Castrol/Mahindra Tractors Dodge behind the pit wall, his day was over early. “It’s a shame” said Kennington. “We had a really fast race car today and we had some kind of mechanical failure under the hood. This Castrol/Mahindra Tractors Dodge was fast, it felt great and we really had a chance to get another victory. We’ll head back home and find out exactly what it was and we’re going for the win at the final race next week” he added.

After twelve races DJ Kennington is third in the overall championship standings.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will close out the 2009 season this coming Saturday September 26th at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, ON. This year’s race schedule of thirteen events from coast to coast is again broadcast on TSN.

DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team returned to Barrie Speedway in Ontario for round number eleven of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The 1/3 mile bullring is a track where Kennington has tasted victory before and the team hoped to make up some ground in the championship standings. Though they scored their ninth top-ten finish of the season, this night however would leave them feeling irritated.

During afternoon practice the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge showed it’s usual strength posting quick times with each turn around the track. Kennington would qualify on the outside of row two in the fourth position. “It was a solid afternoon for us” said Kennington. “Everything looked good, the car felt great and we had a good starting spot near the front which is very important at Barrie” he added.

The promise of a successful night would quickly evaporate quickly. Right from the drop of the green flag Kennington knew there was a problem with the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge and was on the radio his crew alerting them to the situation. “The car seemed to bobble right of the start” said the driver. “We had a caution right at the start of the race and I hoped it wasn’t too serious. On the restart however the car felt underpowered and I knew we had to deal with this right away” he added.

Kennington would bring the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge to pit road and the crew checked to make sure it wasn’t a dislodged plug wire or other quick fix and sent him back on track. It was immediately apparent that the problem was more serious and Kennington would be forced to return to the pits again to rectify the problem.

With remarkable speed the Castrol Crew changed the carburetor on the car and returned Kennington to the fight. “It was really frustrating to have that kind of a problem” said the disappointed driver afterwards. “We didn’t have any indication at all during practice or qualifying, for some this issue popped up at the start of the race” he added.

While still early in the race the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor team was a dozen laps down to the leaders and Kennington set out to make the best of the bad situation. With the repairs solving the power problem Kennington would use all of his skills and the Dodge horsepower to run laps as quick as the leaders for the rest of the night.

While it certainly wasn’t the kind of race the driver and the rest of the team expected, they continued to work hard and finished the 300 lap event with a tenth place finish. “I just hate it for Castrol and Mahindra Tractors and everybody that helps us out with our program that we had this kind of fluky problem” said the driver. “Somehow we managed to get a top-ten finish out of it but we clearly showed that we had a car that was capable of much more tonight, we’ll jut have to show it next week at Riverside Speedway” he concluded.

After eleven races DJ Kennington continues to sit second in the overall championship standings.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be back in action this coming Saturday September 19th at Riverside Speedway near Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This year’s race schedule consists of thirteen races, all of which will again be broadcast on TSN.

DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team continue to perform and are enjoying a successful season in the NASCAR Canadian Tire series. At round number eight on Saturday night at Mosport Speedway the Castrol/Mahindra team again flourished and claimed their second consecutive podium finish.

The Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge performed reasonably well right from the beginning of practice but Kennington was determined to do even better. “We always run pretty well, we’re a solid top-five car, we finish up on the podium but we always want to be a first place car and we have to keep trying things to always be improving” said the driver. Kennington would post the third quickest qualifying lap and start the 200 lap feature on the inside of row two.

From the drop of the green flag Kennington pushed the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge forward immediately grabbing second spot and setting his sights on first. On lap eighteen Kennington would take over the race lead and then began to formulate his strategy for the competition and the rain that was threatening. “All the things we did during practice helped and the Castrol/Mahindra car was really good initially” said the driver.

The race would stay green for the first seventy laps and with one eye on the weather the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor team decided not to pit. As the race moved past halfway and became official the decisions became more difficult. They could not go the entire distance without fuel and would need new tires as well. As the race neared the three quarter mark the caution flag flew and Kennington came to pit road for scheduled service for the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge.

If the race continued as it did earlier with a long green flag run Kennington felt he had the car to win. As is often the case, circumstances changed and the final quarter of the event had several caution periods and restarts. The Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge was strong right to the end but without an extended run Kennington would be forced to settle for another third place finish at the checkers. “We were just a little too tight after the new tires, but if it had been a 250 lap race I think we had it” said the driver afterwards. “We did learn some things about the handling of the car and we’ll be even better prepared for the next oval race at Barrie” he added.

After eight races DJ Kennington sits third in the overall championship standings.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series heads back to Quebec for round number nine as the feature race of the Fortieth Anniversary edition of the Grand Prix of Trois Rivieres on Sunday August 16th. This year’s race schedule consists of thirteen races, all of which will again be broadcast on TSN.

Following some disappointment in Edmonton DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team looked to bounce back during round number seven of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series at Auto Clearing Speedway and wrap up the western swing with some momentum. With a solid team effort Kennington claimed a third place finish and helped tighten up the championship points standings.

Once again Kennington had the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge among the front runners during afternoon practice and posted an impressive run during qualifying and would start the 250 lap feature third. “I could have been a little better I think” said Kennington. “There was a bit of speedy dry on the back straight that I hit and it upset the car just enough or we might have been right up front” he added.

As the race began Kennington took his usual approach of feeling out the car and the competition while running comfortably up front. “The Castrol/Mahindra car was pretty good at the beginning” said Kennington. “We’re trying a whole bunch of things right now trying to get better, we know what to do to be fast, but we want to make sure we can be fast for the whole race” he added.

Kennington continued to work to maintain a position near the front of the field through the midway point of the race. Just past halfway during a caution period the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Tractor team made their scheduled pit stop and elected to take on fuel and put four tires on the car. “We kind of got snookered at Vernon and I didn’t want to get caught without fresh tires” said the driver.

With fresh rubber the handling was much improved and Kennington would take the #17 Castrol/Mahindra Dodge to the front of the field on lap 184. Though eventually he would be passed by two other cars Kennington was able to maintain a quick pace and bring the car home with a third place podium finish. His fifth top-five finish of the season. “We’ll take it” said Kennington. “It was a good points day we did make a few gains and I’m pleased about that”.

While Kennington thought he had a car capable of winning after his scheduled service for tires and fuel there were some minor adjustments that could have made the difference. ”We’ve still got some work to do, but we’re getting there. We lead a few laps and now we’re going to take these notes that we’ve got and work on some things for the next race. It’s such a fine line with these cars, everybody is so even and we just need to make that little bit of improvement and we’ll be there”.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series returns to Ontario for round number eight on the Mosport oval track, Saturday August 8th. This years schedule includes events at Trois Rivieres and at the NASCAR weekend in Montreal. All thirteen races will again be broadcast on TSN. To cast your vote for DJ Kennington as the mot popular NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver click here and for more on DJ Kennington log onto www.djkennington.com

After four consecutive top-five finishes including a victory at Delaware Speedway DJ Kennington and the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge team expected to continue their push toward the top of the point standings in round number six of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Saturday’s feature event of the Edmonton Indy, the Canadian Tire 100. After a solid qualifying effort mechanical misfortune would ruin the day.

After two practice sessions the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor team appeared to have the race car dialed in to be one of the front runners. With a short twenty minute session of qualifying Kennington would grab the fifth starting spot. “You only have a few laps before the tires start to go away and I thought we did a good job in qualifying with our limited track time” said Kennington. “The next order of business was to have the car prepared to compete in the 100km feature” he added.

The Castrol/Mahindra Tractor team as usual was meticulous in their preparation and made the changes they felt necessary for the different track conditions expected during the race. When the green flag waved to begin the event Kennington was able to jump ahead after the first corner and pick up fourth spot. But only minutes later DJ knew he had a problem. “There just wasn’t the speed especially on the straightaway that we’ve demonstrated with this Dodge motor before” said the driver. Within a few laps Kennington was beginning to surrender positions and fell back in the field.

A full course caution slowed the race allowing Kennington to make a pit stop and the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor crew went to work diagnosing the problem. Crew Chief Dave Whyte detected a problem at the top of the fuel cell and the team made quick repairs and turned Kennington loose without losing a lap. “The whole group did really well to fix that one problem and not put us down a lap, unfortunately it wasn’t the only difficulty, something else was causing a fuel pick up difficulty” stated the driver.

As the race returned to green the Castrol/Mahindra Tractor Dodge was still off the pace and Kennington would be forced to soldier on to the end in an underpowered car. “I’m just so disappointed for Castrol, Mahindra Tractors, Northern Provincial Pipeline and everybody that helps us out” said Kennington. “We were on a pretty good roll, this western swing is tough on the team, but everybody is working so hard I’m just really disappointed. But this group doesn’t get down at all and even with this short week ahead we’ll be ready to go at full speed” he concluded.

After six races Kennington sits fourth in the overall championship standings.

Round number seven of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series concludes the western swing and takes place this Wednesday July 29th with the first ever series visit to Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This years schedule includes events at Trois Rivieres and at the NASCAR weekend in Montreal. All thirteen races will again be broadcast on TSN. To cast your vote for DJ Kennington as the mot popular NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver click here and for more on DJ Kennington log onto www.djkennington.com

DJ Kennington and the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge team continued to build on the momentum they have established this season during round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at Sun Valley Speedway. Kennington would start the 300 lap main event on the outside of the front row and come home with his fourth consecutive top-five finish.

The Castrol/Mahindra Dodge team confirmed they would be among the contenders from the early part of practice and Kennington would post the quickest lap. “We only did a few laps” said DJ Kennington the car was absolutely great and it was very hot so we didn’t see a need to beat up our equipment” he added.

As the green flag dropped to start the race Kennington would hound the #60 trying to the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge trying to take over top spot. “It was a good little battle between us through the first part of the race” smiled DJ. “The car was really good and I just tried to keep the heat on him and we eventually took the lead” he added.

Kennington would claim top spot on lap 80 and the five bonus points that go along with leading a race lap. “It’s what we always want to do, get the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge out front to lead at least one lap and get those bonus points, they really add up” said the driver.

As the race neared the mid point and the first yellow flag was displayed the Castrol/Mahindra crew took the opportunity to make their first pit stop. The car was becoming difficult to handle and needed adjustments. Unfortunately the second half of the race would be a struggle for Kennington. “The car got very loose at halfway and we just seemed to really lose the handle on it” said the driver.

Despite the teams best efforts to correct the handling on the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge the difficulties persisted. Kennington would also speculate that it was not only adjustments that were the issue. “We don’t know for sure but it might have been a sway bar that backed off but it was so loose that I could barely hang onto it”.

With an ill handling race the plan was to make sure to bring the car home in one piece and secure the best possible finish. Kennington would claim four spot as the checkered flag waved. “It’s a decent points day for us so we’ll take it and run, it’s not what we wanted but we’ll be busy this coming week to get ourselves ready for the next race at Edmonton” said the driver optimistically.

With his fourth straight top-five finish Kennington maintains his position of second in the overall championship.

Round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series western swing continues Saturday July 25th with a stop at the Edmonton Indy weekend. This years schedule includes events at Trois Riveres and at the NASCAR weekend in Montreal. All thirteen races will again be broadcast on TSN. To cast your vote for DJ Kennington as the mot popular NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver click http://www.nascar.com/news/features/mpd.poll.canadian.tire.series/index.html and for more on DJ Kennington log onto www.djkennington.com

DJ Kennington and the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge team demonstrated that they are going to be a formidable challenger for the championship during round four of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series at St. Eustache. Kennington would record his second podium finish of the season and move up to second in the overall point standings.

Kennington felt he had something to prove during this second visit to St. Eustache after having a mechanical malfunction in the first race of the season. The Castrol/Mahindra Dodge was quickest during practice and DJ posted a new track record qualifying lap of 17.210 seconds around the 4/10 mile track or an average speed of 83.67mph.

As the green flag waved on the 250 lap event Kennington received an unexpected surprise. “The car was way loose in the beginning but it did come back to me after about ten laps. It might have been just low tire pressures” he added. Kennington would receive the five bonus points for leading a lap and through the first stages of the race never lost touch with the lead pack.

Though he did fall out of the lead Kennington continued to keep the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge near the front of the field as the race progressed. “It was our strategy to stay near the front and play the tire game and try to play track position for the end of the race” said the driver.

Though the second half of the race Kennington continued to keep the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge Avenger near the front of the field looking to seize on any opportunity and improve his position. With a handful of laps remaining and Kennington holding the second position there was one more chance to regain the lead on the final restart of the race. Kennington tried to nose the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge ahead but couldn’t hold the position and settled for a second place finish.

Though he wasn’t able to score the victory Kennington was pleased with the days result. “It’s a nice points day for the Castrol/Mahindra Dodge team and it would have been nice to win, maybe with a couple more laps we might have had a shot but we’ll take it. We’ve got some nice momentum going now and we’re knocking at the door every week and that’s what we need heading west”.

Round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series begins a three race swing through Western Canada. Competitors will be at Sun Valley Speedway near Vernon for a 300 lap event this coming Saturday July 18th. Other events this year include races at the Edmonton Indy weekend, the NASCAR weekend in Montreal. All thirteen races will again be broadcast on TSN. For more on DJ Kennington log onto www.djkennington.com

DJ Kennington and the Castrol Dodge team were all set to hit the track for round number four of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Saturday at the Autordrome St. Eustache on Saturday. Unfortunately Mother Nature was uncooperative and the race has been postponed until Sunday afternoon at 2PM. Kennington will be looking for his second victory of the season and his third top-five finish.

Following the event at St. Eustache round number five of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series begins a three race swing through Western Canada. Competitors will be at Sun Valley Speedway near Vernon for a 300 lap event this coming Saturday July 18th. Other events this year include races at the Edmonton Indy weekend, the NASCAR weekend in Montreal. All thirteen races will again be broadcast on TSN. For mor eon DJ Kennington log onto www.djkennington.com

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